LEADING OFF 
No. 9 Loyola Chicago closes out the regular season with a pair of Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) matches, starting at No. 20 Purdue Fort Wayne on Thursday, April 9 at 7 p.m. before the regular season finale at No. 7 Ball State on Saturday, April 11 at 3 p.m.  

QUICK HITS 

• Senior setter Ryan McElligott was named the MIVA Offensive Player of the Week after lifting Loyola to back-to-back sweeps over then-No. 12 McKendree (April 2) and then-No. 11 Lindenwood (April 4). He dished out 58 assists in the wins and added eight digs, six kills, five aces and two blocks.  
• Junior middle Aidan Klein paces the league with a .514 average hitting clip and ranks third in blocks (80 total, 1.05/set), good for 15th in the country. He's also one of four Ramblers with at least 150 kills.   
• Senior libero JJ Sowa averages 2.05 digs per set, placing him fourth in the conference and 28th in the NCAA. He posted a career-high 14 digs in the win at Hawai'i earlier this season (Jan. 9).    
• As a unit, the Ramblers rank second in the MIVA in hitting percentage (.324) and third in points (16.66/set), assists (11.85/set), kills (12.60/set), blocks (2.35/set) and service aces (1.71/set). Nationally, Loyola is sixth in assists per set, eighth in kills and aces per set, and 10th in hitting percentage.  
• Head coach Shane Davis marked 300 career wins earlier this season after a sweep against Ball State (March 5).     
• Men's volleyball celebrates its 30th anniversary this season after Loyola added the program in 1996. The team is home to two of the university's three national championships and has never had a losing season.     

SCOUTING REPORT 
Purdue Fort Wayne is 11-10 on the season and 6-8 in MIVA action. Junior opposite Logan Muir ranks eighth in the NCAA in points per set (4.56) and ninth in service aces per set (0.52). He leads the league in points per set and aces per set, and ranks second in kills per set (3.83). As a team, the Mastodons are No. 3 in the MIVA in opponent kills per set (11.00), opponents assists per set (10.10) and opponent digs per set (7.56).  

Ball State currently paces the conference and is 21-3 overall and 12-2 in league play. Senior outside Patrick Rogers leads the MIVA in kills with 3.82 per set, good for 11th in the country, and ranks second in points (4.54/set), fourth in hitting percentage (.414) and seventh in service aces (.40/set). Junior setter Lucas Machado sits at fourth in the league in assists per set (9.87), placing him 12th in the NCAA.  

SERIES HISTORY  
Both series date back to Loyola's first season ever in 1996, and the Ramblers hold the advantage in each, leading the Cardinals 42-26 and the Mastodons 46-24. Earlier this season in Gentile Arena, Loyola downed Ball State in straight sets (March 5) before falling 3-1 to Purdue Fort Wayne two days later (March 7).  

FOLLOW THE ACTION 
Stream both matches on ESPN+. Follow men's volleyball on Instagram and X @RamblersMVB for in-game updates.